Parallel Printer Renaissance?

[ratdude747]

While at my parents house to watch the super bowl, I raided my old stash again and among other things, found a project that never took off involving old parallel printers.

To start, we have a HP JetDirect 500X triple print server:



You know you've gone old school when there's ThinNet BNC connectors and dip switches:



As old as it is, the RJ45 supports 10/100... so actually still usable on modern networks. Also, it does have a primitive java/active-x based web GUI... which I couldn't make IE11 run for the life of me (security issues and the like). The good news is like all JetDirect servers, it does support Telnet for configuration... easy peasy. Beleive it or not it does actually work perfectly on modern windows clients (all 3 ports!); I set it up and connected to a printer using a tablet running 8.1 x64... Old, but very much still a usable bit of hardware!

To go with it I had an even older (?) Laserjet 4L:





The old toner still works (mostly, see below) and I was able to fire it up, print a few test pages (which mostly worked, see below), and even attempted to print a test page from windows 8 (I think I had the wrong postscript driver as it printed but the page layout was dicked). Brought it home, and no bueno, she's not running. See this thread:

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?p=879090

While troubleshooting it, I discovered that it has a genuine AT&T Parallel jack:



Not sure why, but it also streaks up every page:



Assuming I make it work (or come across another old parallel only laser), that takes care of port 1... but what about ports 2 and 3? Well, here's some ideas:

-obtain an old plotter... they practically give them away sometimes.
-Utilize the two Star dot-matrix printers I'll be getting off my parents the next time I'm at their old house. Both are star units- one is a tractor feed monster from the 80's (they've owned it forever), the other is a letter-size unit that came from a dumpster in the late 90's/early 2000's (worked great and for them was an upgrade from the tractor feed beast). Can Star printer ribbons even be obtained? If so, I may put one or more into use... for lols if nothing else.

I know I'm crazy... but other thoughts or ideas (on what to do with the print server)?

[ratdude747]

Re: Parallel Printer Renaissance?

Printer's fixed. Dirty/jammed scanning mirror. Cleaned and spun it around... and here we go:



Still streaking like a drunk at a ball game, but at least the image is making it there.

Thanks to STJ in the other thread for the tip about cleaning the scanning mirrors.

[Curious.George]

Re: Parallel Printer Renaissance?

Assuming I make it work (or come across another old parallel only laser), that takes care of port 1... but what about ports 2 and 3? Well, here's some ideas:

-obtain an old plotter... they practically give them away sometimes.

PEN plottes are really only good for line-art -- like schematics or CAD drawings (not renderings). Anything small (A/B size) is more readily emulated by a regular printer. Larger tends to eat up a sh*tload of space for something you'll typically rarely use (I discarded my D & E size plotters a few years ago).

One potential use is to convert them to large-format digitizers (the old HP plotters directly support this option if you replace the pen with a "sight"). OTOH, your local service bureau can save you a lot of time and hassle if you're only rarely doing this sort of thing.

The newer inkjet plotters are more versatile -- but eat a boatload of ink. And, like most inkjets, you're always worried about the tanks/nozzles drying out due to lack of use (yet another reason to pay someone to maintain THEIR printer/plotters and just "rent" them, by the page, as needed)

I know I'm crazy... but other thoughts or ideas (on what to do with the print server)?

Trade it for a single port unit and never worry about what to use the other ports for, again! :> (I use 300X's, here -- as my printers are in different locations and on different networks; the 300X is small enough that it's relatively easy to hide under something without having to worry about 3 cables, in your case, snaking out to 3 different printers!)

[ratdude747]

Re: Parallel Printer Renaissance?

PEN plottes are really only good for line-art -- like schematics or CAD drawings (not renderings). Anything small (A/B size) is more readily emulated by a regular printer. Larger tends to eat up a sh*tload of space for something you'll typically rarely use (I discarded my D & E size plotters a few years ago).

I'm lumping "large format" printers into the same category. I've seen those in parallel get tossed too. At work we use those for both part/CAD prints, large wall charts/schedules, and posters. An old pen plotter would be cool, but I agree not super useful.

Trade it for a single port unit and never worry about what to use the other ports for, again! :> (I use 300X's, here -- as my printers are in different locations and on different networks; the 300X is small enough that it's relatively easy to hide under something without having to worry about 3 cables, in your case, snaking out to 3 different printers!)

I'm not about to neuter myself by intentionally downsizing. "Nothing" is an acceptable answer. But it's not the only one.

----

Got the right drivers... and here we go:



Looks like we have some ghosting in the drum... faulty drum? Or some other issue? Any way to fix the drum? Or do I need to bite the bullet and get fresh toner (or re-retire the printer)?

[eccerr0r]

Re: Parallel Printer Renaissance?

I have the same problem on my 5P (and incidentally I'm also using a jetdirect with it) and I think it's just an aging toner cartridge, even though the one I have in there now is fairly "new" though out of the bag was opened for many years

I couldn't figure out how to open the toner cartridge without making it explode to fix it, so that pretty much is the FRU.

[Curious.George]

Re: Parallel Printer Renaissance?

I have the same problem on my 5P (and incidentally I'm also using a jetdirect with it) and I think it's just an aging toner cartridge, even though the one I have in there now is fairly "new" though out of the bag was opened for many years

I couldn't figure out how to open the toner cartridge without making it explode to fix it, so that pretty much is the FRU.

I think part of the appeal of packaging so much of the image handling process IN the toner cartridge is to allow for it to be "discarded" (recycled) after a fixed amount of use -- instead of reused (and "wear" accumulating).

I run a 5P and a 6P -- mainly because of their lower power requirements (I tossed all of my bigger/faster printers as I can walk to Kinko's and have THEM print any "big" jobs in less time than I can verify a seldom used printer is operational!). I think we get a couple of YEARS out of each toner cartridge. And, it's dry, here, so the toner tends not to "cake".

[CapLeaker]

Re: Parallel Printer Renaissance?

On the "older" 4L: I've had the exact same printer like 25 years ago! I'd guess 1995 / 96? I never knew that there was a Parallel to network jig like that. Interesting...

[eccerr0r]

Re: Parallel Printer Renaissance?

I don't think the 4L and 5P aren't much that far apart in age. The 4L is a tiny laser printer though perhaps the newer 1100 has smaller volume, it doesn't look like a laser printer like the 4L. But I thought the HP Jetdirects were fairly common. Ever since at least the Laserjet IIIsi with a built-in Jetdirect people want these things, so HP offered them. Mine's only a single parallel port. It also has security holes in the firmware that were never fixed...

Anyway I need to get my 5P working better again, been printing my tax forms with the smearing and letting the government deal with me not buying a properly working cartridge. That 'broken' cartridge had less than 200 pages on it (rated for 4000 pages), so it's still mostly full too, makes me mad...

[Curious.George]

Re: Parallel Printer Renaissance?

I don't think the 4L and 5P aren't much that far apart in age. The 4L is a tiny laser printer though perhaps the newer 1100 has smaller volume, it doesn't look like a laser printer like the 4L. But I thought the HP Jetdirects were fairly common. Ever since at least the Laserjet IIIsi with a built-in Jetdirect people want these things, so HP offered them. Mine's only a single parallel port. It also has security holes in the firmware that were never fixed...

The whole protocol is insecure -- don't put a printer on an outward facing network!

The firmware update (on the 300X) is also flakey. I've bricked more than a couple trying to upgrade them to the latest firmware!

[For a real hoot, look at the "HP Secure Web Console"!]

[ratdude747]

Re: Parallel Printer Renaissance?

No kidding about the security. If something is configured via Telnet, security is out. That said, it's not going to be port forwarded (Duh!), and won't be used all that much (or so I think) so I'm not too worried. It's not like it's connecting directly to another PC or the like.

[Curious.George]

Re: Parallel Printer Renaissance?

No kidding about the security. If something is configured via Telnet, security is out. That said, it's not going to be port forwarded (Duh!), and won't be used all that much (or so I think) so I'm not too worried. It's not like it's connecting directly to another PC or the like.

No, the SECURE web console is laughably worse than that!

https://support.hpe.com/hpsc/doc/pub...r_na-c00346749

It's essentially a single port terminal server that supports HTTP client access.

So, you plug the SWC into your (server's) console serial port. You expect to encounter plain text on the serial port as it is expected to have PHYSICAL security -- it's located IN the datacenter!

(Did I mention it is their SECURE Web console product?)

Then, connect to the SWC via a browser. You end up with a little window IN your browser that mimics the "text console" that would normally be available on that (now remote!) serial port.

(Did I mention it is their SECURE Web console product?)

But, to transport the characters from the serial port to the web interface, they are (ahem) "encrypted" with a simple substitution cipher. So, you can watch the web traffic and decode the serial port data IN YOUR HEAD!

https://www.giac.org/paper/gsec/172/...console/100647

(Did I mention it is their SECURE Web console product?)

[eccerr0r]

Re: Parallel Printer Renaissance?

Did you end up trying a new cartridge or just letting it print smeared down the page?

[ratdude747]

Re: Parallel Printer Renaissance?

Did you end up trying a new cartridge or just letting it print smeared down the page?

neither. got busy with work and haven't had time to dick with it